Recovery as an Economic Stimulus

There are many reasons why the full economic and social recovery of Louisiana hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike is essential. One of the most important of those reasons is the fact that recovery itself provides an economic stimulus.

This has become exceedingly important at a time when the country and the world have experienced a prolonged economic slowdown. However, Louisiana was slower than most states in experiencing the full grip of the national recession. Much of that can be attributed to recovery efforts, which provided thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in additional resources to areas across the state.

By engaging in recovery work, many companies in otherwise troubled business sectors such as construction, wholesale, and retail sales, were able to remain operational and viable, while individuals were able to maintain employment and families were able to maintain health insurance and other benefits.

Further, a full recovery of Louisiana and its people is essential in order to maintain a productive workforce, an attractive place for business to invest in and move into, and a continued advancement of Louisiana as a state.

Key Recovery Corps positions related to recovery as an economic stimulus:

  • It is essential that the state of Louisiana spend all of the resources allocated to it by the federal government and do so in a manner that positively impacts the people of the state
  • Recovery and rebuilding in Louisiana must also continue to be supported at the federal level so that the state of Louisiana does not fall behind and generations of citizens are not forgotten
  • Recovery work must continue because it has a positive impact on the state of Louisiana during a time when it would otherwise be marred in a deep economic recession
  • The full recovery of Louisiana and its people is essential in order to maintain and build the state's workforce, provide the quality of life sought by companies looking to move into the state, and ensure that Louisiana's economy continues to advance and diversify